Music in Lord of the Rings Online
The scene is simple enough: a group of Hobbits reclining in oak chairs as they enjoy a tall mug of ale, their feet bobbing in time with the music being played within the quaint tavern. Or what about a great, towering hall of silver where the tall, graceful Elves dancing lithely to the beautiful melody streaming forth from a flute?
These are the types of things that you’d encounter in the world of Tolkien, but it might come as a joyous surprise to most that the music, one of the most incredible things about both the LotR books and movies, is much like a mini-activity within the Lord of the Rings: Online.
Some of us here at Beckett have spent some time testing out the beta version of this new MMO, due out next month, but my biggest joy came when I realized that any character, no matter the class, can whip out an instrument (in my case, the lute) and by using the 1-8 keys on your keyboard, play real-time music with two octaves and the ability to strum flat notes as well.
Several of us spent an hour just standing around making music, taking turns as we played everything from classical melodies to Christmas carols to even Darth Vadar’s theme song/march. Once we got the hang of a song and wrote down the numbers to press, it was a simple matter of typing out the numbers in chat to let each other play the exact same songs.
Quite honestly, I’ve never had more fun just standing around. There was no combat, no bickering about class imbalance, no fighting over loot... just several people enjoying whatever tunes we could come up with at the time. It was simple, relaxing, and most importantly... extremely Tolkien-like.
Once the game goes live, I can see people setting up open mic nights at various taverns all across Middle Earth. Guilds will form for the sole purpose of getting together to perform as a band. Players will become famous on their server, not for having the most kills or for wearing the best armor, but for being able to create music that reminds people that after a long, hard day of adventuring with their fellowship, nothing is better than relaxing to some real music.
-Rebecca Bundy
